New products for my Etsy shop

I'm finally listing some new products in my shop!  This is a set of 4 different blank notecards.  I never have enough cards on hand, so I'll be offering plenty more very soon.  Stop by my shop to see pictures of all 4 cards.  My etsy shop is at www.etsy.com/shop/lindabaruthadesigns.

I'll be back with more new products for you later this week:)

Hello Soul Hello Business

Today I started my much anticipated online class by Kelly Rae Roberts and Beth Nichols - Hello Soul Hello Business.  Today's lesson involved thinking about your business as a person.  I'm excited about this because years ago I thought up a character that represents my creative business -- her name is Linnie Lou.

Linnie is passionate about individuality; celebrating living your life without any limitations.  When I was growing up, my brother who is two years younger than me, was blessed with many artistic talents.  My uncle was a professional artist and my brother had many of the same traits.  Back then, I used to joke that I couldn't even draw stickmen.  But I always embraced the belief that if I wanted to do something, I could.  I'll never forget one Saturday afternoon playing with my best friend in her attic-bedroom.  We were somewhere between 8-10 years old.  We decided to pretend to play "I Dream of Jeanie".  Since my friend had long blond hair, of course she got to be Jeanie, which meant I had to be Mr. Nelson.  So, the way I got excited about that was deciding we would make a brown suit jacket from scratch that I would wear.  Her mother's sewing machine was in the attic, and we scrounged our supplies and put together a make-shift jacket.  Now, for the life of me I cannot really recall the finished product.  But, what I totally loved about this was the process.  The euphoric feeling that if I wanted something bad enough, even without any skill or knowledge, I was still going to make it happen.

This feeling takes hold of me when I plan to create anything.  I guess I refer to it as my passion.  I want everyone to feel this way because I can never get enough of it!  This is WHY I have a creative business.  To share that euphoric feeling of no boundaries with others.  Art allows me to do that.

Have a blessed day!

My Light

I wanted to an ah ha moment with you.  I have been very comfortable in my heavy coat of weight for many years.  One of those reasons is that when I was at a healthy weight, I received a lot of superficial attention from men.  That always bothered me, because I could they really like me when they didn't even know me?  Men tend to view our bodies first and then (sometimes never) get to know us.  Every once in a while I would let me guard down and get fooled by this attention.  But, God was clearly looking out for me.  I met my husband over 27 years ago and he loves ALL of me.  We have been through a lot together, and I finally understand myself enough to know that it's time to let go of this old, useless coat.

You see, I know I am strong, confident and able to accomplish anything I set my mind to.  I just have to remember not to be afraid of my own light.  Being strong is a powerful.  And  because of my nature I don't want to ever overshadow someone else.  But at the same time I need to let my personal light shine and feel good about it.

Boy, am I rambling today or what?!  LOL!  Sorry if this post isn't making sense to you.  But if it is, I hope you will join me in shining your light proudly:)

Ending a Journey

Today I put the words on my angel painting that I made to represent my brother-in-law's passing.  It's finally time for me to pass this along to my sister and let her keep it with his ashes.  I hope and pray that my painting brings her some peace and beauty.  Here it is.  The words are "Always in my heart, forever in my prayers, until we meet again".

I have watched my sister weather through shock, grief, anger and now strength.  My sister and I are a lot alike that way -- we are survivors.  Very strong.  I've always known this.  But just because we are strong doesn't mean we need any less love or compassion.  Through this journey we have been blessed with many.  Thank you to all of your prayers and well-wishes.  My BIL is safe and sound with the Lord and our family is moving on with our own journeys in this life.  Closure.  It's a good thing.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Fearless Weight Loss

In keeping suit with my 2012 Word, "Fearless", I have a new weight-loss experiment of sorts.  Over the past five years I have been enjoying flavored creamer in my coffee.  It's not that I won't drink coffee without it, because I still need and love my coffee.  It's just that the flavored creamer makes the entire experience feel like a treat to me.  But, I've noticed that I drink way more coffee because of the creamer enjoyment.  Well, the other day I noticed the calorie count on one little individual serving of my creamer is 30 calories.  I put two, sometimes three of these little babies in my coffee.  When I started doing the math, I realized that I probably consume anywhere from 200-400 calories a day just in creamer!  That's a meal!!! 

So, starting today I'm doing a little experiment.  For the next month I'm going to only allow myself to have creamer in my coffee one day a week (Sundays).  I'm weighing myself weekly so I'll be able to notice a weight change.  I'll keep you posted! 

Yes, this is a "fearless" act for me:)  What fearless thing are you doing today?

Welcoming 2012

Happy New Year!  It's a good thing that I don't like to dwell on the past, because 2011 was a rough year for me and my family.  But, even through all of the turmoil I feel that I have grown so much personally and spiritually.  So 2012 will be awesome!

One of the blessing I received in 2011 was the unexpected companionship of the other women that took Kelly Rae Roberts "Taking Flight" ecourse with me.  This group of wonderful, like-minded souls has become as close to me as my personal journal.  With their help, I've gained the courage to be myself and not hide my feelings.  Instead, I say them out loud and embrace them.  I'm finally truly happy with who I am.  Thank you Fly Tribe!

Within our Fly Tribe we each are choosing one word to represent what we are going to focus on for 2012.  My word for 2012 is FEARLESS.  I need to focus on being fearless about staying true to who I am, not worrying about what others think.  I'm going to carry this fearlessness over to every aspect of my life.  I'm hoping for the most growth in my art business, so I think FEARLESS will help me get there.

Read about all of my fellow flyer's 2012 words by simply clicking on the Flyer's Blog Hop Badge in the right column of my blog.  They have a complete list and links to everyone participating.  

What's your focus for the new year?